| Home | Biodiversity is defined by Websters New World Dictionary as the "variety in the living things in a particular area". This can be on a global scale, encompasing all the organisms in the world, or on a much smaller scale, maybe the variety of organims that live under your deck.
Biodiversity is threatened in many ways. The clearing of forests (especially rainforests) is one. Clearing land for development or resources destroys organisms habitats and food sources. It is estimated that 50-70% of all life on earth lives in the rainforest. The rainforest is being deforested at a rate of 1.5 acres per second. Another way is the use of pesticides. Pesticides often kill more than the target species. Birds, mammals, and plants can all be affected, lethaly, by pesticides. When exposed to certain pesticiedes, many organisms develop mutations, or lose fertility. Pollution is another threat to biodiversity. An estimated 20% of organisms in European lakes have been killed off by higher levels of acidity caused by air pollution. Also pollution may contribute to climate change, which could cause organisms to die out because they can't adapt. |
| Kingdom Animalia | |
| Kingdom Archaebacteria | |
| Kingdom Eubacteria | |
| Kingdom Fungi | |
| Kingdom Plantae | |
| Kingdom Protista |
| I feel that sometimes the needs of humans outweighs the effect development has on biodiversity. However, I think a little more restraint is necessary. We destroy the rainforest at far too fast of a rate. Many medicines and other useful materials come from the rainforest, yet we cut it down before we can study these things. Not only do we harm the organisms in the environment, but we (eventually at least) hurt ourselves in the process. |
| Links |
| Biodiversity and Worldmap |
| Biodiversity and protected areas |
| Center for Biodiversity and Conservation |
